- Actions done out of mercy may seem absurd and senseless at first glance.
- A person can show mercy even in the most difficult situations
- Actions related to helping orphans can be called merciful
- Showing mercy often requires sacrifices from a person, but these sacrifices are always justified in some way
- People who show mercy are worthy of respect
Arguments
L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace". Natasha Rostova shows mercy - one of the most important human qualities. When everyone begins to leave Moscow, captured by the French, the girl orders that the carts be given to the wounded, and not carry her own things on them. Helping people is much more important for Natasha Rostova than material well-being. And it doesn’t matter to her at all that among the things that were to be taken away, the dowry is part of her future.
M. Sholokhov “The Fate of Man.” Andrei Sokolov, despite difficult life trials, did not lose the ability to show mercy. He lost his family and home, but could not help but pay attention to the fate of Vanyushka, a little boy whose parents died. Andrei Sokolov told the boy that he was his father and took him to his place. The ability to show mercy made the child happy. Yes, Andrei Sokolov did not forget his family and the horrors of war, but he did not leave Vanya in trouble. This means that his heart did not harden.
F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment". The fate of Rodion Raskolnikov is difficult. He lives in a miserable, dark room and is malnourished. After the murder of the old pawnbroker, his whole life resembles suffering. Raskolnikov is still poor: he hides what he took from the apartment under a stone, rather than taking it for himself. However, the hero gives the latter to Marmeladov’s widow for the funeral; he cannot ignore the misfortune that has happened, although he himself has nothing to live on. Rodion Raskolnikov turns out to be capable of mercy, despite the murder and the terrible theory he created.
M.A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita". Margarita is ready to do anything to see her Master. She makes a deal with the devil, agrees to be the queen at Satan's terrible ball. But when Woland asks what she wants, Margarita only asks that they stop giving Frida the handkerchief with which she gagged her own child and buried him in the ground. Margarita wants to save a complete stranger from suffering, and this is where mercy is manifested. She no longer asks for a meeting with the Master, because she cannot help but take care of Frida and get past the grief of others.
N.D. Teleshov "Home". Little Semka, the son of settlers who died of typhus, most of all wants to return to his native village of Beloye. The boy escapes from the barracks and hits the road. On the way he meets an unfamiliar grandfather, they walk together. Grandfather also goes to his native land. On the way, Semka falls ill. Grandfather takes him to the city, to the hospital, although he knows that he cannot go there: it turns out that this is the third time he has escaped from hard labor. There the grandfather is caught, and then sent back to hard labor. Despite the danger to himself, grandfather shows mercy towards Semka - he cannot abandon a sick child in trouble. One’s own happiness becomes less significant for a person than the life of a child.
N.D. Teleshov “Elka Mitricha”. On Christmas Eve, Semyon Dmitrievich realized that everyone would have a holiday, except for eight orphans living in one of the barracks. Mitrich decided to please the guys at all costs. Although it was hard for him, he brought a Christmas tree and bought fifty dollars worth of candy, given by the resettlement official. Semyon Dmitrievich cut each of the guys a piece of sausage, although sausage was his favorite delicacy. Sympathy, compassion, mercy prompted Mitrich to do this act. And the result turned out to be truly wonderful: joy, laughter, and enthusiastic screams filled the previously gloomy room. The children were happy from the holiday he organized, and Mitrich from the fact that he did this good deed.
I. Bunin “Lapti”. Nefed could not help but fulfill the wish of the sick child, who kept asking for some red bast shoes. Despite the bad weather, he went on foot for bast shoes and magenta to Novoselki, located six miles from home. For Nefed, the desire to help the child was more important than ensuring his own safety. He turned out to be capable of self-sacrifice - in a sense, the highest degree of mercy. Nefed died. The men brought him home. A bottle of magenta and new bast shoes were found in Nefed’s bosom.
V. Rasputin “French Lessons”. For Lydia Mikhailovna, a French teacher, the desire to help her student turned out to be more important than preserving her own reputation. The woman knew that the child was malnourished, which is why she played for money. So she invited the boy to play for money with her. This is unacceptable for a teacher. When the director found out about everything, Lydia Mikhailovna was forced to leave for her homeland, to Kuban. But we understand that her act is not bad at all - it is a manifestation of mercy. The seemingly unacceptable behavior of the teacher actually conveyed kindness and care for the child.
It is generally accepted that man is a social being, capable of empathy with his neighbor. The very concept of compassion involves experiencing his pain with someone - suffering together. Oddly enough, opinions differ about how appropriate this feeling is and whether it is necessary in human society.
Compassion as a hindrance
Someone dares to directly state that this is completely useless, and gives another example of compassion from life (fortunately, in it you can find an illustration of any way of thinking): a woman was walking, saw a homeless puppy, took pity, fed it, and then the ungrateful dog grew up and bit the child of her savior.
This is followed by Nietzschean thoughts that the weak must perish, and the strong, accordingly, must survive. If we think in this way, the question of whether empathy and compassion are needed in life is excluded in principle. To be fair, it should be noted that all these arguments are typical of people who are either mentally ill (to which the founder of the theory himself belonged), or emotionally immature - due to age or lack of imagination.
Quality of a developed person
The ability for abstract thinking in the process of compassion is necessary: we often sympathize with people whose shoes we have never been (and thank God). Physical or mental injuries and losses evoke a feeling of compassion - perhaps only due to the fact that a person is able to use his own, similar (even the most insignificant) experience to imagine how someone who is even less fortunate must feel.
Experience, the son of difficult mistakes
This brings us to the popular belief that in order to feel someone else's pain, you need to experience your own at least once. On the one hand, this is true - each of us can confirm that other people's feelings become much clearer when you yourself experience similar ones. Daughters begin to understand their mothers much better after giving birth to their own child. Having suffered humiliation at school, it is easier to imagine yourself in the place of an outcast.
On the other hand, the notorious personal experience is not necessarily the key to success: every example of compassion in life is balanced by its opposite. The army hazing is indicative in this regard: yesterday they humiliated me, today I am humiliating. Such revenge, aimed at the whole world around, is the flip side of sympathy. The way in which each of us uses our life experience depends on the person’s personality, his upbringing, the environment in which he lives, and many other factors.
Feeling and deed
If we stick strictly to the factual side, compassion is just a feeling. In itself, it is fruitless and is intended only to motivate action - to come to the rescue. Conversely, in order to receive help, compassion must first be aroused. Examples from people's lives focus, in principle, on this. Here is a man who came from another city, received a salary and agreed to have a drink in the warm company of unfamiliar people (the act itself is far from optimal, but, as a rule, stupidity precedes any trouble). His newfound comrades drugged him with God knows what, took his money and threw the poor fellow out on the side of the road.
A guy walks by, stops, finds out what’s going on, and gives money for transportation home. Some will say that this is real, but it may well be that it is so indicative only because in this case the feeling gave rise to the action.
Long-standing problem
In the course of thinking about the nature of empathy, it is customary to delve into the nuances of concepts and say that compassion elevates, pity humiliates, various interpretations and subtle nuances are given. The famous Austrian writer S. Zweig introduced another concept related to the subject - “impatience of the heart.” He wrote a story of the same name, the central theme of which was compassion. The essay, which contains vivid, interesting and very illustrative examples from life, has the right to be considered a deep and very controversial philosophical development of the concept of sympathy and responsibility for it.
So, a young man meets a crippled girl who falls deeply in love with him. In a fit of compassion (is it his?) the hero decides to marry her. Next, his internal torment is described in detail, resulting in tragedy: the abandoned heroine commits suicide.
This situation is literary, but a similar example of compassion from life, albeit not as dramatic, is not as difficult to find as it seems: in the next entrance lives a child no one wants, almost a street child. His mother drinks bitterly, his stepfather mocks him. One “beautiful” night the boy finds himself on the street, and compassionate neighbors pick him up. He spends the night there for a day or two, and then no one wants to take responsibility or bother with someone else’s child, and as a result, he again finds himself in the circle of his so-called family.
For some time, the boy comes to the people who helped him: he brings flowers, tries to communicate, but does not find understanding: they are busy with their own problems, they have no time for him. He becomes embittered and goes wandering.
Impatience of the heart
It is logical to assume that in the matter of compassion, as in any other, one must either complete what has been started or not begin at all.
In the book, the theme receives a peculiar development: a young man, tormented by the pangs of remorse, comes to the doctor of his deceased bride, and then it turns out that in a similar situation he did exactly the opposite: he married his blind patient, devoting his entire life to her.
The author puts the following thought into the mouth of this character: there is, they say, true compassion, and there is simply impatience of the heart - a feeling that arises in each of us when we see someone’s pain or trouble. This causes discomfort in the souls of those around them, a desire to fix it as quickly as possible - not in order to help the sufferer, but in order to regain one’s own peace of mind. And our fussy, inconsistent actions can lead to truly dramatic consequences.
Another example of compassion from life, which can rightfully be considered the classic “impatience of the heart” according to Zweig, is alms given in an underground passage to a dirty woman with a sleeping child in her arms. Thousands of words have already been said and printed about drug-addled unfortunate children, thanks to whom unscrupulous people are enriching themselves - their place is in hard labor, with a cast-iron cannonball on their feet. But no: citizens with enviable persistence continue to throw change into the beggar’s cardboard box, thus investing in infanticide. Isn't this a mockery of such categories as empathy, compassion, support?
First - think
Apparently, everything must be approached by listening to the voice of not only the heart, but also the mind. Even the Christian religion, calling for mercy, at the same time says: “Let your alms sweat in your hands before you know to whom you are giving” (Teaching of the 12 Apostles, chapter 1, v. 6). This advice is interpreted in different ways, but also in the sense that there is no need to support the “covetous person.” It is unlikely that money given to an alcoholic for vodka or a drug addict for his hellish potion is a manifestation of compassion - rather, it is a desire to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
Another very important question is: “Do we need empathy and compassion in life, which require sacrifice from a person and thereby give rise to a kind of chain reaction?” The same doctor from the already mentioned book, married to an unloved woman, inevitably evokes sympathy, just like herself. Does a person have the right to sacrifice himself for the sake of empathy, or do such actions destroy both the receiver and the giver?
Anyone who has at least a drop of gratitude can give examples of mercy and compassion from their own lives. There is hardly a person in the world who has never been helped by anyone in his life. Just like a villain who has not done a single good deed... We all give and receive - and everyone decides for himself the question of the proportionality of what is given and what is received.
Sometimes it seems as if in our homes there are no people left with big and warm hearts who are capable of selflessly helping those who are in trouble. But this is not true! “Good News” brings to your attention true stories that prove that the world is not without good people. Read about how children donate toys for the benefit of their neighbors, bosses donate New Year's corporate parties, and ordinary Chelyabinsk residents donate their own bone marrow in our special selection.
Disabled Vova Klimov and 16 years of alms in pursuit of a dream
Five years ago, the whole country learned about Chelyabinsk disabled person Vladimir Klimov. Several federal channels immediately reported how this smiling guy, in the rain, cold and heat, begged for alms near a store in the Leninsky district in order to fulfill his dream of moving to an apartment on the first floor. He lived with his elderly parents on the 9th floor: the elevator kept breaking down and Vova would spend the night on the street when there was no one to drag him and his stroller upstairs. Over the course of 16 long years, he managed to accumulate about 600 thousand rubles in alms; about the same amount was not enough to purchase a small studio on the ground floor. Soon after the television story was released, an unknown philanthropist transferred the missing amount to Vova. With a note: “For a dream.” Thanks to a mysterious stranger, Vova has already moved in a couple of years ago and has even done some renovations.
Yulia Kovaleva, who donated bone marrow
In 2013, then 23-year-old resident of Chelyabinsk Yulia Kovaleva became a donor of part of the bone marrow for dozens of children from different rehabilitation centers in the country. At the same time, Yulia is the first person in Russia who literally donated a part of herself, without being a relative for the sick. She was prompted to do this by a feeling of mercy and compassion for sick children. Let us note that after Yulia, several more Chelyabinsk residents donated stem cells from bone marrow for those suffering in different parts of our country.
The district police officer who sheltered the family of fire victims
The fire happened on the night of November 10 in the village of Travniki. The house caught fire due to unlucky neighbors and burned down completely, leaving the residents of the house - Alexander, Elena and 14-year-old daughter Anya on the street in the middle of the night in only their nighties. The Kovins had nowhere to go. However, help came from unexpected places: from the local district police officer Ivan Vasilyevich Goloshchapov. Having learned about the tragedy, the 31-year-old major sheltered a completely unfamiliar family in his apartment. By the way, other people also helped. For example, a family from Chelyabinsk, Ekaterina and Andrey Poverin, created a help group on social networks and collected about 100,000 rubles for the Kovins. With this money we purchased building materials and little by little began to build a new house.
Five-year-old Anya, who gave 200 toys to charity
The girl was inspired to give away her favorite Smeshariki, elephants and lambs by her 15-year-old sister Nastya, who has been taking her toys to the orphanage since childhood. The sisters were taught to do good deeds by their mother, Ekaterina Svechnikova. She always tells the girls how important it is to share with those who are missing something.
Anya took the toys to the social discount store “Vo Blago”, where they were put up for sale at minimal prices. The proceeds went to help children from low-income families in Chelyabinsk.
The boss canceled the New Year's corporate party and gave money for the baby's operation
The Kritskov family Dmitry and Irina came to Chelyabinsk from Donetsk in 2014, when Irina was already 6 months pregnant. When the boy, his name Zhenya, was born, he was found to have severe disorders of the genitourinary system, and an operation was urgently needed. The family searched for a doctor and finally found British surgeon Imran Mushtaq. However, the flight and operation required a very large sum, which the refugees, of course, did not have. Fortunately for them, the owner of one of the companies in Chelyabinsk found out about the story, who decided to cancel the New Year’s corporate party and give the 1 million rubles not spent on champagne and snacks to the Kritskovs. As a result, the baby was successfully operated on, after which he immediately began to recover.
To be continued…
Examples of compassion from life experience
Sympathy, compassion, support... We hear these words since childhood, but we do not always understand their true meaning. I still only intuitively define the line between compassion and empathy, but support should accompany both of these concepts.
I used a dictionary to find out the meaning of the terms that interested me. According to Ozhegov and Shvedova, compassion is “pity, sympathy caused by someone’s misfortune, grief,” and empathy is “a responsive, sympathetic attitude towards the experiences and misfortune of others.” Thus, we can conclude that compassion is one of the aspects of empathy.
Support, in my opinion, is helping a person who is in some kind of trouble. But it does not have to be material or physical. In my opinion, moral support is quite enough to inspire gratitude. Of course, I do not believe that helping is necessary for the sake of reciprocal favors. True support is selfless, it is provided with the best intentions, empathy and compassion for the person.
You can give many examples of sympathy, compassion, and support from literary works. But, unfortunately, no fewer examples can be selected from real life.
Usually the people closest to him have compassion for him. Friends and relatives know you better than others, they understand how to support you and prevent you from making a mistake. I'm not an exception. When my good friend had troubles in her family, I did not talk about how her relatives were to blame, or about her own lack of restraint and stupidity. I just found those words that lifted my friend’s spirits, made her feel that she was not alone, that not everything was lost. Based on my own experience, I will assume that the compassion that can be accepted by a strong person must be sincere and heartfelt. If you understand that the situation does not evoke a response in your soul, try to find practical advice so as not to offend a relative, friend or acquaintance with indifference.
When misfortune befalls a person, he needs support and compassion. It is always easier to endure something, knowing that you are not alone, that someone understands you and your condition. The most important aspect of compassion is the ability to feel the experiences of another person, accept them and show it. Naturally, in order to be able to do this, you need to be somewhat empathic. It is unlikely that a cold and callous person can experience compassion - he is too closed for this.
In my understanding, a person who experiences compassion must have rich life experience, remember his emotional state when he was bad, bitter, offensive, in order to resurrect it at the right moment.
Before giving an example from life about compassion for people, let us remember the meaning of this word.
Compassion → participation and sympathy for the suffering of others, grief.
Unlike pity, which is limited to a feeling of sadness for someone else’s misfortune, compassion is empathy, an impulse to help a person. You can feel pity for yourself, but you can only have compassion for other people.
Examples:
1. My best friend’s beloved dog has disappeared. He is very worried, he cannot find a place for himself. We sympathize with him and want to help, for example: we encourage him, we say that she will definitely be found, we help put up missing persons notices, together we search in the courtyards of nearby streets.
2. An old, lonely veteran grandfather lives next to us and finds it difficult to move independently. We sympathize with him, sometimes we go buy food or medicine, and stop by for a chat for tea.
3. A man tripped and fell on the street and severely injured his leg in the fall. We are compassionate (we don’t pass by) and can help him get to the hospital or call an ambulance, bring water if he asks.
4. Some people who have compassion for others become volunteers (they help for free): helping the disabled, orphans, the poor, the elderly, that is, people in need of moral or material support.
Probably almost every person has at one time or another experienced compassion or empathy for another person or being. So how can we describe compassion? When a person is able to feel all the pain of another person, this is called compassion. However, many believe that compassion is not only about feelings, but is primarily about action. It is not enough just to sympathize with another, you also need to provide some kind of help in getting rid of trouble, grief, or at least try to reduce it.
It seems to me that every person who feels love for a living being is capable of sincere compassion.
Of course, not all people have the ability to sympathize. But this feeling one way or another breaks into the life of any person. Usually compassion is a response to a situation that seems very sad and pitiful to us. We immediately have a desire to do something, to at least somehow help a person or animal who is in trouble or an extremely unpleasant situation. These situations are completely different. They can not only affect any area, but can also vary in significance.
There are many examples of compassion in life. For example, my mother found out that a lonely elderly man lives in our house. Grandfather’s wife died a long time ago, and his children live in another city and don’t help him at all. He lives only on his pension; of course, he doesn’t have enough money. And he simply has no one to talk to either. When my mother found out about the life of this grandfather, she immediately wanted to help him. She felt very sorry for him, she told our family about him, and we decided to help him somehow. We met him and said that we would come to visit him soon. We baked a delicious pie, made a salad, bought fruits, vegetables, tea, and cookies. With all these gifts we came to him to drink tea together. We sat with him for more than 4 hours. Time flew by, grandfather talked so captivatingly about his life. It was immediately clear that he had not spoken to anyone for more than a few minutes in many years. He was so happy, and we were glad that we at least somehow brightened up his ordinary days. Mom agreed with grandfather that we would come to him for tea every week. It's his birthday soon. This means that we will definitely come to him and organize a holiday for him.
Another example of compassion is another situation. My sister was walking home from school and saw a little tiny kitten. It was winter, a blizzard, the baby was shaking all over from the cold. He was almost covered with snow, he sat on the step leading to the entrance, and meowed pitifully. My sister couldn't just pass by. She took him to our home. There she washed him, dried him, made him a bed and put it next to the radiator. The parents didn’t argue at all, but allowed us to keep the kitten.
I think these situations perfectly describe how people can have compassion and empathy.
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